Techniques to battle stage fright

1. Know your stuff! The best thing you can do is to be overwhelmingly, thoroughly, and completely prepared and in mastery of your material. 
2. Focus on getting through the first five minutes. That is where the problem lies. Rarely do you see someone who seems fearful all the way through his or her presentation.
3. Breathe! Fear is a bodily reflex and one that you can overcome. When you get afraid, you start to breathe in short, fast breaths. Before you speak, or while you are being introduced, you should sit quietly and breathe slow, deep breaths. .
4. Tell yourself that the world won’t fall apart if you do a rotten job. Face it; unless you are delivering the State of the Union Address, the world will keep right on revolving if you don’t do well. 
5. Understand that you are your own worst critic.  You shouldn’t pick you apart either. Obviously, this is mainly for the one giving the occasional talk, not the professional speaker. .
6. Understand that most of the people in the audience would be scared to death to give a speech too, and are glad that it is you and not them! For the occasional speaker, it is okay to say, “Excuse my nerves, I am not used to this.” 
7. Make ‘em laugh
8. Practice in front of a mirror, in front of friends, or in front of a videotape.
9. The quickest way to combat this is to change your negative self talk ("What if I forget what I am talking about?") into positive self talk (" I am fantastic at this topic, its so natural to me!"). 
10. Rest shaky hands on a podium; if a podium is not available, hold index cards which shake less than paper. Don't touch your nose, mouth, clothes, hair, neighbor.
11. Make eye contact with someone in the audience.
12. Keep a glass of water nearby to keep dry mouth at bay; plus, pausing for a sip of water can buy you some time if you've lost your train of thought.
13. Create notes that highlight your most important points; make these words large and easy to read so you only have to glance down briefly.
14. Speak more slowly than you normally would; it might feel strange to you but your audience will perceive it as calm confidence.
15. Stand up straight and smile; it's almost over